


Chetyre Sobaki (Four Dogs)

by JetBlackGoldfish



Series: Sochi [1]
Category: Political RPF
Genre: Dogs, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:34:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24239599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetBlackGoldfish/pseuds/JetBlackGoldfish
Summary: Bashar comes to Sochi, Russia, to visit Vladimir. Little does he know that Vladimir has a surprise for him.
Series: Sochi [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749598
Kudos: 2





	Chetyre Sobaki (Four Dogs)

Today was a grey day in the coastal city of Sochi, and every now and again some drizzle came pouring down. It was spring, and there was a slight chill in the air. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, was standing on the marble porch of his summer palace, protected from more of the drizzle that had just come lashing down. 

  
A black car with tinted windows slowly drove up the road, and stopped right outside the palace. A small smile flickered across Vladimir's face as the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, got out of the car. Vladimir couldn't help but smile as Bashar, also smiling, climbed up the stairs. 

  
The two men gave each other a quick yet firm hug - Bashar had to bend over to hug the much shorter Vladimir properly. After the hug, they gave each other a firm handshake. 

  
'Zhelannyy' said Vladimir. 

  
'Ahlan wa sahlan' said Bashar. 

  
The drizzling rain was now coming down a little more forcefully. This didn't really mean anything to Vladimir or Bashar, besides, they were covered by the roof of the porch. Still, Vladimir said to Bashar 'Let's go inside, we have a lot to discuss.' 

***

  
Soon, Bashar and Vladimir were sat in the meeting room, discussing many issues such as co-operation, trade and the current situation in both their countries. Both were sat on small, suede, light brown chairs. 

  
Vladimir remembered when these chairs had first arrived to the summer palace. Dmitry Medvedev had picked them out personally from the furniture catalogue that he and Vladimir had looked through together. Vladimir found the chairs quite comfortable, but Bashar, secretly, did not. He found the back of the chair to be too small, and it began to hurt after a while, but he couldn't say anything about it, not when talking about something important. Also, he was thinking about Sochi and how beautiful the surroundings were - the forests, the grey pebble beaches... but whenever Bashar came to Sochi, all he ever saw were the palace and this room. 

  
After over an hour of discussions, Vladimir stood up and said 'You can stand up now, Bashar.' 

  
'Shukran, Vladimir,' Bashar said softly, slowly standing up. His slightly aching back was feeling better already. He wanted to stretch himself out, but there were Syrian and Russian camera crews here, and he felt he'd just look silly. 

  
After making a joint speech and another quick yet firm hug, the camera crews left. Vladimir looked at Bashar and said 'Follow me, Bashar, I have something to show you!' 

  
_Is it a surprise? What is it going to be?_ Bashar thought to himself, following Vladimir out of the room and down three flights of stairs. Vladimir stopped outside two elaborate white wooden doors, with glass panels and golden door handles. 

  
'Come outside with me. There's some dear friends that I'd like you to meet.'

  
Vladimir opened the door and went outside into the spacious garden. 'Come on, Bashar! The rain has stopped!' 

  
Bashar opened the door, walked out onto another marble porch, and down more marble steps. He'd had dozens of ideas as to who Vladimir's friends would be, but he certainly was not expecting this. 

  
On the grass were four large dogs, all barking loudly at the sight of this new person that they'd never seen before. All of the dogs were of different breeds. One of them was mainly brown, with white paws and a white patch in the middle of his face, and long, floppy ears. One mainly had a white coat, with brown, black and white markings on his face, brown spots on his back, and small ears. One dog was white and a biscuit, almost orange colour, and another dog had a long, grey-brown coat. 

  
Bashar couldn't help but feel nervous. 'Are they always like this?' he asked Vladimir, feeling his hands getting sweaty.

  
'Only when they meet someone new,' Vladimir explained. 'I know they seem big and aggressive, but they're really very affectionate and cute.' Vova clapped once, held up his hand and said 'Сидеть!' 

  
All four dogs stopped barking and sat down immediately.

  
'How do you find the time to train them all?' Bashar asked. 

  
'You have to make time for them,' Vladimir replied. 'Even if it's just an hour or two a day. Have you calmed down yet?' 

  
'I don't know...' 

  
'You should pet one of the dogs, so they know you don't mean any harm to them.' 

  
'What if one of them bites me?' 

  
'If that happens, we'll just have to deal with the situation. I promise, they really are lovely and gentle when you get to know them. Go on, walk up to them.' 

  
Bashar took a deep breath and took a few, very small steps towards the four dogs. He tried to put the idea of bloody dog bites and tetanus shots out of his mind... _Vova isn't lying to you, they really are lovely and gentle..._

  
The white and biscuit-coloured dog approached Bashar and sat in front of him, staring up at him with big, dark, shiny eyes. 

  
'Go on, stroke her!' Vova said encouragingly. 'But be gentle!' 

  
Bashar tried to clear his mind, and very gently stroked this dog's fur. The dog seemed rather pleased, so Bashar gave the dog a few more soft, gentle strokes. The dog responded by licking Bashar's hand. It seemed like she liked this new person a lot. 

  
'She likes you!' Vladimir said, sounding very happy. 'Now try getting on her level.' 

  
Bashar slowly kneeled down, not knowing what to expect. The dog, wagging her tail rapidly, licked Bashar's face a few times. Bashar giggled and cuddled this surprisingly adorable dog.

  
'She's lovely, Vova! What's her name?' 

  
'Her name is Yume. It means 'dream' in Japanese.' 

  
'Hello Yume!' Bashar said, still giggling. Yume licked Bashar's face once more and then walked over to Vladimir. Bashar stood up, and was now approached by the dog with brown spots on his back, who was a lot bigger than Yume. After a few gentle strokes on his back, this dog playfully jumped up at Bashar, almost knocking him over. This huge dog was very happy with getting attention from someone new. 

  
'That's Verni, and he was a gift from Turkmenistan,' Vladimir explained. 

  
'Your birthday present? He's huge! All these dogs would take up my whole apartment!' 

  
'These dogs need as much outdoor space as possible. I take them with me on my trips to Siberia sometimes. Maybe one day you should come along.' 

  
'Maybe,' Bashar said, stroking Pasha, the grey-brown dog's fur, who also licked Bashar's hand. After that there was Buffy, the large brown dog from Bulgaria, the biggest of the four dogs. Buffy had his fur stroked a few times, but walked away after that.

  
'What do you think of them now?' Vladimir asked Bashar. 

  
'They really are lovely,' Bashar gasped, 'but I couldn't cope looking after them every day, walking them and feeding them...' 

  
'Speaking of feeding them,' Vova said, 'I think it's lunchtime for all of us. Steak for the dogs and for us I believe it's fish pirog, cranberry mors and ptichye moloko - oh, and you really should wash your hands and face first.' 

  
'Of course, Vova.' 

  
Vladimir and Bashar climbed up the steps and onto the porch at the exact moment that the drizzle came again. 

  
'Buffy! Yume! Verni! Pasha!' Vladimir called to his dogs, and they all came running up the stairs. 


End file.
